Parenting 101: A Collection
by KingofJesters
Summary: Parenting isn't all it's cracked up to be, and these Disney parents and mentors can tell you all about it.
1. Mother Gothel

_A/N: These one-shots have already been posted, I know, I'm simply compiling them into one big collection. I'll probably add more as I write them, but since I've already got several stories going, don't expect regular updates. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these movies, Disney does. _

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><p>Parenting 101-Mother Gothel<p>

I never realized raising a child would be _so_ _much_ _work_. I had always despised children, and ever since I had started using the magic flower I had avoided people altogether in order to not raise suspicion. But once I kidnapped Rapunzel and spirited her away to my tower, everything changed. I no longer had to take care of myself, but I had to raise Rapunzel to think she was my daughter!

And the _fun_ was only just beginning.

I can remember very clearly the first time I ever left Rapunzel alone in the tower. I was only stepping out for an hour or two, just to gather some parsnips, and I was certain that I could trust the five year old to stay out of trouble for that amount of time.

"Now Rapunzel, flower, Mommy needs to go pick some fresh parsnips for dinner, and Rapunzel needs to stay inside where she's safe. Will you stay inside and look at pictures like a good girl?"

"Yes Mommy," said Rapunzel. She scampered off to find her picture book, already beginning to trip on her hair, which was beginning to be quite long. I smiled at her then quickly squashed any feelings of affection for the girl. She was only here for her hair, her hair and nothing more!

I was literally gone for an hour. (Maybe two, I was never good with the passing of time since I began using the flower.) As I headed back to the tower, I could faintly hear Rapunzel singing inside, no doubt entertaining herself through any means necessary.

I'll never forget how right I was.

As soon as I climbed the stairs inside the tower and opened the trapdoor I gasped in shock.

_Rapunzel was covered entirely in paint. _From her head to her toes, and completely soaked into her beautiful, life-giving hair, she was covered in _paint_! Sitting in the middle of the room, singing at the top of her lungs and obviously enjoying herself, sat Rapunzel, slowly smoothing out the pink paint into her hair.

I shrieked and clambered out of the trapdoor, scattering the contents of my basket everywhere. "RAPUNZEL!" I started panicking, what if the hair didn't work anymore?

Rapunzel looked up at me and smiled. "Look, Mommy!" she cried. "Paint!"

I was panting in my rage, ready to hit something. But I slowly calmed myself down, trying to get a grip on myself. _The child is young,_ I reminded myself. _There is time yet to teach her how to behave. All the time in the world. _

"Rapunzel," I said in a strained yet calmer voice. "Let's get you cleaned up, alright flower?" Rapunzel nodded, and walked in the direction of the bathtub.

"Are you mad at me Mommy?" asked Rapunzel in her sweet little voice. _Don't get attached, Gothel, _I scolded myself.

"No, flower," I said sweetly. "Let's just get you cleaned up, then maybe you can sing for Mommy, how does that sound?"

"Ok, Mommy."

I didn't think parenting was going to be _this_ hard, but it would all be worth it in the end. Right?


	2. Claude Frollo

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these movies, Disney does._

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><p>Parenting 101-Claude Frollo<p>

The boy is a nuisance. If that old fool of an Archdeacon hadn't stopped me, I would have drowned him like any other sane person in my situation would have done. But as the boy was placed in my care, it is my duty to watch over him; even if it is rather _reluctantly._

The boy is forbidden from going outside, he knows that. However, I am able to discern how much he wants to be out there among the normal people; the longing sighs, the reluctance to leave the ledge where he can look out at the populace. Why he wishes this, I am not sure. But the boy is young, he will learn in time.

The boy is curious. A week ago, when I brought him his breakfast, I saw him dangling from the rafters. My first thought was that he would kill himself if he fell and began shouting at him to come down at once. The boy came down, grinning at my shocked expression, and I had to order him never to climb up into the rafters again. He obeyed, somewhat grudgingly, and yet I know he is probably still frittering about his time in those rafters.

Yesterday, he asked me if he could learn the art of woodcarving. I refused point blank.

"B-but master!" squeaked the boy, protesting. "The, the people in the square do it sometimes! A-and it's very beautiful! Why can't I-"

"Quasimodo," I snapped, turning to face him. The boy stopped talking and cast his eyes downwards, cowering. _Much better,_ I thought. "There is no purpose in learning this frivolous trade. You must think of your duties _first_ before wasting your time on pleasure. Do you understand, boy?"

The boy nodded. "Y-yes, master."

I nodded curtly. But, as I turned to leave, I took a moment to pause and ponder my decision. The boy _does_ need something to occupy his time, lest he become bored and cause more mischief. Who knows what a small boy may get up to cooped up in a tiny room for hours on end?

I shuddered at all the possibilities.

Turning back to the boy, whose head was still hung in sadness, I said, "Well, Quasimodo. Have you been taking care of the bells like I told you?"

The boy, sensing redemption, nodded eagerly. "O-oh yes, master! I've cleaned the bells and polished them and I've swept the-"

"Yes, yes, very well," I said, dismissing the full explanation with a wave of my hand. "Well, Quasimodo, I suppose I could let you attempt woodcarving, _provided_, that the activity does not get in the way of your duties."

The boy nodded very fast, "Oh, it won't master, I promise! I'll be extra careful, and I'll never ask for anything ever again, I promise!"

"Yes, yes," I dismissed him again, and turned towards the exit. "Very well, I shall bring your supplies tomorrow. Goodbye."

As I left I swear I could hear him chattering excitedly to the statues, his "friends", about what tomorrow would bring.

_I could only hope that with this one act of kindness I could win the boy over to my side. Then maybe, one day, he would be of use to me.  
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	3. Marlin

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these movies, Disney does._

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><p>Parenting 101-Marlin<p>

Being a single parent is hard. Especially when your son is a hyperactive little tyke with a knack for finding trouble. Add to that an amnesiac surgeon fish and a group of laidback sea turtles and you've got an equation for mischief and mayhem.

But I love them all anyways.

Of course, I have my moments of frustration and angst. What parent doesn't? And every time Nemo's birthday rolls around I do get those brief bursts of melancholy. I miss Coral _so_ _much_. Whenever Nemo's having a rough day, or is dealing with this problem or that situation, I miss her more than ever. She would know what do to, me I'm just like (pardon the pun) a fish out of water.

However, I do have my moments of greatness.

I kept Nemo in school, despite my initial terror at him being away from home and me. But I knew he could handle it. Squirt is enrolled at school too, so Crush and I chat from time to time. He's been giving me tips about being a single dad, and that's really helped me cope. Dory's become like a big sister to Nemo, and watches him whenever I'm busy or just need to be alone. Sometimes _Nemo_ winds up watching _Dory_, but it's really nice seeing them together. Dory never found out where her family went, and Nemo's never had anybody but me, so I'm glad the two of them found each other and enjoy each other's company.

The sharks still hang around. Dory still belongs to their support group (which never made sense to me, but that's Dory) and they tend to come home with her from time to time, giving everyone on the reef, including me, a huge fright. I know that they won't hurt anyone though, so I get a laugh whenever they make Bob ink.

Nemo's a good kid. He's made quite a few friends since his misadventure, all of them wanting to hear how he'd been kidnapped by humans and how he escaped. He'd become quite popular, and many of his friends have stuck with him. Especially Squirt. I can barely keep those two boys apart, not that I want to. Squirt is Nemo's first real friend, besides Dory, and I never want to take that away from him.

Over all, I think I've become a decent parent. Nemo's happy, and that's all that matters in the long run. Dory's happy too, and as I've discovered over the course of my adventures, that that's almost as important. I'm not perfect, will never claim to be, but I think I'm doing a respectable job so far, don't you think?


	4. Django

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these movies, Disney does._

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><p>Parenting 101-Django<p>

Remy was different. Annoyingly so. I just didn't understand him, him and his dreams of a different life. There was no different life for us, we are rats. We steal for survival, that's the way it has always been, and will always be. Remy just didn't understand that. Probably never would, no matter how hard I tried to ingrain it into him.

He was always dreaming of something better. And he kept dragging his brother along with him. Emile was a smart rat, and he didn't question me whenever I told him to eat his garbage and do what I told him. Remy did, and it irked me.

Yet no one could have mourned for him more than I did.

I hid it, my loss, from the colony. Emile didn't even notice my sadness or lack of diet. He mourned his brother's loss as well, but always made up for it by eating more and more food. I just started throwing myself into my work, protecting the colony more fiercely than ever, trying not to think about my lost son.

And no one was more surprised, and relieved, when Emile brought him home after months and months of searching.

Of course, the whole thing with the humans was surprising. And I'll admit I was hard on him when I showed him the rat killer and the traps. He wasn't ready to deal with that, he was too young. He wanted to have faith that things would change, something I felt would never happen.

_"Where are you going?" _

_"With luck, forward." _

That night in the restaurant, seeing my son direct the colony towards making human food, I caught a glimpse of the future Remy believed in. A future where anything could happen; for rats and humans.

And in that instant, I realized that even though I will never understand him, I was proud of my son.


	5. Sulley

_A/N: This one takes place between the time gap before the factory reopens with Sulley in charge. It's a bit depressing, but it just seemed right to end it here. Enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of these movies, Disney does.  
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><p>Parenting 101-Sulley<p>

Boo was the best thing that had ever happened in my life. Well, becoming Top Scarer was up there, but Boo had changed me in a way that I didn't think was possible.

She showed me that I could be a father.

I had never considered it before. Heck, I hadn't even been in a situation where I could be a husband, let alone a father. I was too wrapped up in my job to have time for a relationship.

I had always assumed that Mike would be the one to have kids, what with his serious relationship with Celia and all. So, when Boo had popped into my life, I didn't ever expect to take on a fatherly role.

I assumed it was fate.

Mike had just _happened_ to forget to do his paperwork that night, and I had just _happened_ to "agree" to do it for him, and then I had just _happened_ to see that lonely little pink door in its dock.

Yep, definitely fate.

Protecting Boo just seemed like second-nature. Just one interaction with her, and I was caught, hook, line and sinker. Her adorable little laugh and the way that she would look to me to protect her and make her happy had shown me exactly what it took to be a father, and that I actually sort of had a knack for it.

It was letting her go back, without the promise that I could see her again, that…was the hardest thing I had ever done. I still can't get her little face out of my mind, her big brown eyes pleading with me to stay.

Yet I left. I had to.

But I still have that picture, the one that she drew of the two of us, hidden amongst all my work papers. I take it out and look at it nearly every day.

God, do I miss her.


	6. Sebastian

Parenting 101-Sebastian

Ariel would be the death of me, I was sure of dat. We had only been up on the surface for barely a day, and already I had been nearly killed and eaten by those barbaric humans. If I ever get my claws on dat pompous chef...!

But, at the end of the day, I was really there simply for Ariel.

Even though I severely disapproved of her going to the Sea Witch and signing dat stupid contract and giving up her life under the sea, I understood. She would have been completely miserable if she hadn't at least tried to get to her prince. And since his Majesty most definitely wouldn't have let her go up to the surface anyways, the Sea Witch really was the only option.

A stupid option, in my opinion, but the only one if Ariel was so set on becoming human.

The first day up there was a mess. Dat stupid bird brain and his ideas on how humans actually were! Dressing Ariel up in some ridiculous outfit dat no doubt had her the oddity of the day. Good thing I was able to stow along…who knows what trouble she could have gotten herself into!

And I cared for the child. I simply wanted her to be happy.

And if the only way to make her happy was to get her that prince, then I was gonna do it, no matter what stood in my way.

Because—even though I'll deny it if anyone ever asks—I'd give my life up I could, if only all her dreams would come true.

_A/N: I didn't want to put this at the beginning, because I didn't want to make you read it all before reading the story, so I moved it to the bottom. I thought an explanation should be given on this one, since Ariel actually has an active father in the movies. But, I decided to explore Sebastian's perspective instead because, even though he's not really a father-figure to Ariel, he cares for her like a father. Since everyone kind of knows how King Triton cares for Ariel, the over-protective father, I just decided to take another route and spin it around to make it more interesting. _

_The last line comes from the song _If Only_ for the Broadway musical, if anyone is familiar with it. So no, I'm not assuming things about his character, just putting them all down into one place. _

_I hope this kind of cleared things up a little bit, or at least made the story slightly more interesting. Sorry it's super long. _


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